SARATOGA CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL OPENS MONDAY, AUGUST 2 WITH INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED KALICHSTEIN-LAREDO-ROBINSON TRIO

Season Highlighted by Farewell Celebration for Music Director Chantal Juillet

Featured Ensembles Include 2009 Gramophone Award Winners, The Ebène Quartet and

Sarah Chang with Andrew Von Oeyen

Saratoga Springs, NY (July 29, 2010) - The Saratoga Chamber Music Festival opens on Monday, August 2 at 8 p.m. at the Spa Little Theatre with a performance by the famed Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, an ensemble described by the New York Times as one of “the best-blended, most sensitive, and intelligent piano trios in the world today."  Other highlights of the season include a Farewell Celebration for Music Director Chantal Juillet who will mark her final SPAC season in 2010, a program featuring violinist Sarah Chang and pianist Andrew Von Oeyen and 2009 Gramophone Award winners, The Ebéne Quartet. Tickets and more information are available at www.spac.org.

“One of the brightest jewels in SPAC's classical season is the Saratoga Chamber Music Program. With extraordinary vision and a true passion for chamber music repertoire, Chantal Juillet founded this series in 1991, quickly establishing it as one of the most brilliant, dynamic and inventive chamber music programs anywhere,” said Marcia J. White, SPAC's President & Executive Director. "Our 2010 season will be a celebration of Chantal’s rich legacy and 20 years of brilliant, beautiful music."  

The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, one of the foremost chamber ensembles in the world, makes their first appearance at SPAC this season. The group, each highly acclaimed soloists in their own right, is one of the only chamber ensembles with all its original members. The Trio performs regularly at Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y in New York, and the Kennedy Center, where they are the Ensemble-in-Residence. They’ve been described by the Washington Post as “chamber music royalty.”

Former child prodigy and Avery Fisher Prize-winning violinist Sarah Chang performs with Andrew Von Oeyen, 1999 Gilmore Award Winner and internationally acclaimed pianist (Aug. 3). The pair, who recently performed together in a 30-city tour of Europe, the U.S. and Asia, filled concert halls and generated glowing reviews from critics, including La Scena Musicale's, L.H. Tiffany Hsieh who praised the "instrumental duo’s evident chemistry…" and noted that "Chang delivered her signature big, luscious sound," which was "matched perfectly by Von Oeyen’s deep and full-range tone on the piano."

Described in a New York Times headline as “A String Quartet That Can Easily Morph into a Jazz Band,” the Paris-based Ebène Quartet makes its SPAC debut during the 2010 season (Aug. 17). The 2009 winner of Gramophone’s coveted “Recording of the Year” award for its album of quartets by Debussy, Ravel and Faure, the group has rapidly become known as one of the finest quartets of its generation.  Although its focus is classical repertoire, the Quartet moves with ease between different musical styles.

Other highlights include:

• A bicentennial celebration of brilliant composer Robert Schumann (Aug. 9) by piano virtuosos, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Kirill Gerstein.  Thibaudet, hailed by the press as "one of the best pianists in the world," is a versatile musician known for his mastery of color, nuance and rhythmic intricacies. The Russian-born Gerstein, one of the most extraordinary classical artists of his generation, was recently awarded the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award. 

• One of Philadelphia’s foremost chamber music ensembles, The Wister Quartet (Aug.10).  The Grammy-nominated quartet has earned high praise from critics and audiences alike for its stellar musicianship and performances, including those with guest artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax and Wolfgang Sawallisch.

• A program showcasing the legendary intensity and virtuosity of pianist André Watts (Aug. 15) will feature piano works by Chopin, Schubert and Liszt (Aug. 15). Watts will be joined by cellist Sophie Shao and clarinetist Ricardo Morales. Shao, one of the leading cellists of her generation, has been lauded by the New York Times for her "eloquent, powerful” interpretations.  

More information and tickets are available at www.spac.org , by calling 518.584.9330 or at SPAC’s Box Office.